The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-10-26
HEATHENISM IN HONOLULU.
An Interesting Account from the
Pen of F. w. Damon.


heathenism about us: One does not
need to go to China to study Chinese
heathenism, for here on our Islands, and
especially in Honolulu, is offered abund-
ant material for such investigation. 1t
will scarcely be possible for us here to
go into detailed account of the religious
belief of the Chinese, which is singu-
larly complex and intricate subject.
They are all more or less followers Of
three great systems of belief, the Bud
dhistic, Taoistic and Confucian. 1t is,
no wever, stated by the Rev. B. G. Henry,
in his interesting work on Southern Chi
ma, entitled The Cross and the Dragon"
{" In the worship of the deceased ances-
tors is found the real religion OF the Chi
nese. It antedates all others and has
come down from the most ancient times.
The people are chained to the dead.
They are kept all their lifetime in fear,
not of death but of the dead. AS to its
theory, it is believed that each person
has three souls, which separate at death
one enters the tablet, one remains with
the body in the grave, while the other is
arrested and imprisoned in the other
world. They continue in conscious ex-
istence and their happiness or misery de-
ponds upon the favorable location of the
grave and upon the sacrifices of the liv-
ing. The dead being invisible, all things
intended for their use must be rem
dered invisible by burning except food,
whose flavor, as it arises, regales them.
They believe it is in the power of these
spirits to return to the abodes OF the liv-
ing, and reward and punish them for
their faithfulness or neglect in offering
the necessary sacrifice. The worship Of
fered is essentially the same as that Of
fered before the idols. 1t consists in
burning incense, candles and gilt paper,
in sacrifices of food and other things and
IN prostrations There are in Homo
lulu three representative Idol Temples,
with an immense number of shrines in
private homes and stores. The largest
of these temples is specially dedicated
to the God, "HowWong," a deity main
ly worshipped by the Chinese coming
from the district of Heang Shan, the ma
lority perhaps of our Chinese people be-
ing from this region. This temple is
quite picturesquely situated on the
river bank at the foot of Beretania
street. 1t is most lavish1y ornamented
with gliding and most gorgeous coloring.
of
"How-Wong," on either side are figures
of two other gods, Kwan Tai and the
Chinese God of Medicine, to whom petit
tons are offered in case of sickness.
Another temple, erected since the fire
last wear, is situated little off King
street and is dedicated to "Kwun Yam"
the Goddess of Mercy of Buddhism.
She is represented seated on the opened
petals of the Lotus and occupies the
most prominent position in the temple.
Not far away is another temple dedicated
specially to 'Kwan Tai" the God OF
War. In this temple ara also idols rep
resenting Tien-How, the Queen of
Heaven" and the "God of Medicine.
Kwan-Tai is more wcrshipped on our
islands by the Chinese than any other
god. HIS picture in a shrine is found
in many stores, on the rice plantations,
and in the houses of the secret societies.
He was famous general, who lived
hundreds of years ago in China, and
since his canonization has become a
most popular divinity. In most repre-
sensations he is seen attended by his
son and servant. The following account
of Chinese idolatry will give the reader
an idea of the way in which the worship
in the temples, in our midst, is carried
on: '"The worshipper procures his Of
fering and the services of an assistant
from the temple-keeper. This assistant
rings the large bell or beats upon the
drum to arouse the gods, while the
worshipper kneels before the table upon
which he has placed his offerings OF
tea, wine, rice, fruit and fowl. With
prostrations and incantations he devotes
the essence of this food to the gods, then
goes to the shrine upon which the idol
reposes and seeks the aid of the divin
ing blocks. These two pieces of wood
are thrown down u:til they fall, one
with it's oval and one With its fat side to
the floor, which is considered a good
omen. Then the sacred jar Of bamboo
splints, each of which is numbered to
correspond with the temple-keeper's
book of prayers, is shaken until one of
the splints fall to the floor The assist
ant marks the number with brush pen.
The number is handed to the temple
keeper, who gives the answer according
to the number in his book The paper
money is lighted from the incense sticks
on the shrine, then carried outside and
placed In the brick or meta! crematorv,